1 866.] PROF. VICTOR CARUS. 49 



covered in the course of translation. The connection was not 

 a mere business one, but was cemented by warm feelings of 

 regard on both sides.] 



C. Darwin to Victor Cams. 



Down, November 10, 1866. 



MY DEAR SIR, I thank you for your extremely kind 

 letter. I cannot express too strongly my satisfaction that you 

 have undertaken the revision of the new edition, and I feel the 

 honour which you have conferred on me. I fear that you will 

 find the labour considerable, not only on account of the 

 additions, but I suspect that Bronn's translation is very 

 defective, at least I have heard complaints on this head from 

 quite a large number of persons. It would be a great gratifi- 

 cation to me to know that the translation was a really good 

 one, such as I have no doubt you will produce. According 

 to our English practice, you will be fully justified in entirely 

 omitting Bronn's Appendix, and I shall be very glad of its 

 omission. A new edition may be looked at as a new work. 

 .... You could add anything of your own that you liked, 

 and I should be much pleased. Should you make any 

 additions or append notes, it appears to me that Nageli, 

 " Entstehung und Begriff," &c.,* would be worth noticing, as 

 one of the most able pamphlets on the subject. I am, how- 

 ever, far from agreeing with him that the acquisition of certain 

 characters which appear to be of no service to plants, offers 

 any great, difficulty, or affords a proof of some innate tendency 

 in plants towards perfection. If you intend to notice this 

 pamphlet, I should like to write hereafter a little more in 

 detail on the subject. 



.... I wish I had known, when writing my Historical 



* ' Entstehung und Begriff der the Koyal Academy of Sciences at 

 Naturhistorischen Art.' An Ad- Munich, Mar. 28, 1865. 

 dress given at a public meeting of 



VOL. III. E 



